This Week in Words – New Year’s Edition

by Treehouse Editors

compiled by Rachel Bondurant

If you’re like me, then you hate New Year’s resolutions. I never make
them. I think declaring a goal to be a New Year’s resolution
automatically damns it to failure.

That being said, I (do not) resolve this New Year to write often,
rewrite, and write better. It’s not a resolution; it’s just something I
want to do. In case your unresolution is writing (or reading) related, here are some things to nudge you in a productive direction.

Let’s start tremendously. Jeffrey Eugenides spoke at the ceremony for the 2012 Whiting Award winners, and The New Yorker graciously printed an adapted-for-print version
of the speech for us to read and thus be inspired. To wit, Eugenides
says, “Write posthumously.” Actually, Nadine Gordimer said that, but
Eugenides explains it well – much better than I could here – so read it.

The Review Review has a whole slew of publishing tips, so check all of them out when you have time. A couple of my favorites: this piece about submission phobia and this one about revising.

Nobody can argue advice from Ray Bradbury, especially when it’s so simply put: make a list of ten things you hate and ten you love, then write about them. Nice and easy.